đ Up next
Netherlands
Sprint Weekend
FP16d 16h
Mercedes technical director James Allison says the team must decide when to stop developing its current car and switch focus to next year, warning that calling time too early can make the final part of the season âvery uncomfortableâ. Allison said: "Every Formula One team faces the same dilemma at some point in the season: when do you stop developing the current car and switch your focus fully to next year? The difficulty is that development rates are still exceptionally high. If you stop too early and your competitors continue finding performance, the final part of the season can become very uncomfortable. Our job is to judge that moment correctly."
Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti said Mercedesâ 2026 car âis specialâ and gives drivers confidence, after recalling Lewis Hamilton warning him in 2022 that he was about to drive the âworst carâ the team had built. Vesti said: "I remember the first time I jumped into Lewis Hamilton's car, and he looked at me five minutes before jumping in, and he was like, 'Oh, you're unlucky! You're driving the worst car we've built,' in '22. We've only become better since then. Then to finally drive it, I can really feel that it is special, and it does give confidence, especially in high speed. It's a great car."
Fernando Alonso says Formula 1 needs to make fixes and improvements to the power-unit algorithms that control battery energy deployment under the current regulations. Alonso said: "But yes, I think with these current regulations and the battery deployment, there is something that has to be fixed and improved [with the algorithms]. There are things moving forward, and it's well understood by the sport, by the teams and by everyone. I'm optimistic for the future that it will get better and that it will be better understood what the rules are and what the cars need to be."
Charles Leclerc says adapting to Formula 1âs 2026-generation cars is not as simple as changing driving style because the data no longer gives clear answers, with performance depending on how different systems interact. Charles Leclerc said: "I think it really depends also on the power unit and the way everything is set up. That's why it's so difficult with these cars. There are so many different variables that it's not like in the past where you could look at the data and say, 'This is clearly where I'm losing, this is clearly what I've got to change with my driving.' If you are changing your driving, but the programming is going the other way, you end up being a lot worse than what you were at first."
Mattia Binotto says reported interest from Carlos Sainz underlines the credibility of Audiâs Formula 1 project and shows it is âgoing in the right directionâ. Binotto said: "I think, in the end, it is bringing credibility to our project. If people are interested in our team, I think it means people perceive that the team is doing seriously whatever we are doing at the moment, and they perceive that our project has a clear ambition and is going in the right direction."
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body needs to look at improving its ADUO performance-balancing system, despite insisting its first checkpoint measurement was âvery accurateâ, after Red Bull were surprised to be rated as having the best internal combustion engine. Tombazis said: "I think our measurement, in my opinion, has proven to be very accurate. With that said, has everything worked fine? No, because obviously people are not happy and so on. Do we need to think about improvements in the future? Yes, I would say so."
Lewis Hamilton says he is âcompletelyâ upset that the 2026 style of racing has diminished the challenge at circuits such as Suzuka, Silverstone and Spa, leaving him missing the âpressureâ thrill of wheel-to-wheel combat. Hamilton said: "No, it completely upsets me. These are the tracks that I look forward to. Monaco is a stunning place and an amazing track for a qualifying lap, no matter what car you drive. But it is the least enjoyable race because you can't overtake. My excitement is not qualifying; it is racing⌠battling with people and wheel-to-wheel racing⌠the pressure, defending and all that kind of stuff."
Stefano Domenicali says it is his âdutyâ to do what is best for Formula 1 after drivers openly criticised the sportâs new technical regulations. Domenicali said: "We are not here to put tape on the mouth of anyone. I mean, the beauty of a sport is that everyone can have an opinion, but the opinion is an opinion. There is someone who has the duty to have a line... But I have the duty to make a summary of what is best for the sport."
Max Verstappen says he does not feel any âextra motivationâ for the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, despite it being Zandvoortâs last Formula 1 race for the foreseeable future. Verstappen said: "I never have any extra motivation because that would be bad. Then it means I'm not motivated enough for the other ones to do well, so I always just want to do a good job. I love driving there."
Lando Norris says he feels he is doing a better job in 2026 than he did during his title-winning campaign last season, even though he believes the results have not reflected that progress. Norris said: "Honestly, although it kind of hurts me saying it because it doesn't mean that you just win, I feel like I'm doing a better job this year than I was last year, and I have done for a little while. I've said that for a while. It just doesn't mean you win the races."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the team has a âdutyâ to keep pushing for more wins for the rest of the season after its upgrade package helped it end its 2026 victory drought at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Andrea Stella said: "There are still 12 races left on the calendar, so there are plenty of opportunities given that 546 points are up for grabs. Of course, the gap in both championships is significant, but we remember last year's lesson well: if we've set up a new display cabinet to house the new, recent trophies at the McLaren Technology Centre, then we have a duty to do our utmost to keep filling itâŚ"
Laurent Mekies says Red Bullâs key area for improvement in the second half of the season is consistently giving Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar a car with a good balance. Mekies said: "I'm not really convinced that it is linked to a package or something else. We have been struggling to give the drivers the car they could have a good balance with. Nonetheless, because it's Max, because it's Isack, they very often manage to extract the performance anyway. So I think it's about the consistency of the delivery of performance... and it's probably where some of the potential improvement is in the second part of the year."
Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar says he needs to improve his race pace in the second half of the season to match team-mate Max Verstappen. Hadjar said: "I would say Max that has been very impressive on Sundays, all around. I think my one-lap pace has been pretty good, but how well he is managing the races is on a different level. That's what I'm focusing on and working on."
Charles Leclerc says drivers have to stay âopen-mindedâ with Formula 1âs new 2026 cars because there are so many variables that it can be difficult to understand what is making the difference in performance. Leclerc said: "I think you've got to be very open-minded. I don't think that it's black and white so much with these cars. There are many different variables, and to understand the full implications when you are a little bit off is a lot more difficult than it seems. I don't particularly agree that being super aggressive with these cars works, at least not with our car, but it might do for another car."
Flavio Briatore says Formula 1 needs a âmuch strongerâ cost cap that includes spending currently outside the limit, including driver salaries, to give smaller teams a better chance of competing. Briatore said: "We have a budget gap, but we need to do something stronger. Because whilst the budget cap was a very good idea, at a certain point we need to make the budget cap much stronger, and we need to include the drivers. We need to include a lot of stuff that is outside the budget cap at the moment to give the smaller teams the possibility to compete."
Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss says the decision to replace Graeme Lowdon as team principal was months in the making, even though Lowdon was only told on the morning of the announcement, with Marcin Budkowski confirmed as his successor. Towriss said: "It was my decision. It wasn't a mutual decision. Really, the process started a few months ago, to explore really thinking about what the next phase for Cadillac Formula 1 looks like. So Graeme and I spoke this morning. It is a very recent conversation from that perspective, but there's no easy way to make this transition within Formula 1... It becomes destabilising at that point... it makes it feel more abrupt than it would be otherwise."
Oscar Piastri says his 2026 season has brought âmore lows than highsâ, with the McLaren driver admitting the team have not had the first half of the year they wanted. Piastri said: "There have been highs and lows, for sure. Probably more lows than highs, unfortunately. For us as a team, it's obviously not been the first half of the year that we would have liked, especially compared to last year. Hopefully the second half of the year can be better."
Oliver Bearman says Haasâ struggles this season have meant it is ânot always a fair fightâ, as he pointed to inconsistency between parts and unexpected changes in car balance. Bearman said: "We've been speaking about it a lot, but the inconsistency between our parts has been quite high. It's a shame because it means that you're always chasing a moving target. Overnight, we can have changes to our car balance without expecting that. It's not always a fair fight, the one that we are having, and sometimes we feel like we're fighting with our hands almost tied behind our backs."
Get the full feed, faster alerts, and the stories worth following on your phone.
